Starting Childhood Friends—Weekly Short-Short Note

Since I was in kindergarten, I couldn't fall asleep unless I listened to classical music.
When nap time came, I would ask the teacher.

"Canon today, please."
The teacher was troubled.

Nearby, there was a boy who would make a fuss every day, saying,
"Play 'Thank you, Jun Hanamura!'"
He was a strange kid.

We became elementary school students.
Every year, my snack for field trips was Häagen-Dazs.
Of course, it would melt.
But I believe it's at its best once it's melted.

Nearby, there was a boy who would bring ten Umaibo sticks, all snapped into pieces.

He was a strange kid.

We became middle school students.
It's faster to draw a world map than to memorize one.
Before I knew it, I could draw one freehand.

Nearby, there was a boy aiming for a Guinness World Record on stilts.

He was a strange kid.

We became high school students.
I used the entire schoolyard to build a Rube Goldberg machine.
The teacher was incredibly angry with me.

Nearby, there was a boy who was the three-time champion of the Pocky-bundle-snapping tournament.

He was a strange kid.

University.

A street corner.
I was running because I was going to be late.
While eating melted Häagen-Dazs.

From the other side.
There was a boy running on stilts, carrying a massive amount of Pocky.

We collide.
The world turns into slow motion.

Canon plays.
The mushy Häagen-Dazs dances through the air.
The snapped-up Umaibo scatters.
The world map spreads out in the wind.
The stilts roll away.
Pocky sticks dance through the air, one by one.
The boy's earphones fell out.

♪Thank you~
Thank you~
La la ran ran ran la~n

Our eyes meet.
We pointed at each other.
"Ah!"

Since that day.
I started eating that person's snapped-up Umaibo.
We started eating my mushy Häagen-Dazs together.
Before I knew it, our lines began to mix on the world map.
The stilts became a two-person ride.
The Rube Goldberg machine could no longer be completed alone.
Beside the playing Canon, Jun Hanamura was talking.
I never understood the point of the Pocky-bundle-snapping until the end.

Wedding ceremony.
Canon is playing in the venue.

Next to me, that person hums in a small voice.
"♪Thank you~ Thank you~"
I burst out laughing.

There was a strange kid.
A kid I didn't know.

That day we collided at university.
The clock began to run through the past and future at the same time.

Like this, we started being childhood friends.

I participated in this project by Mr./Ms. Tahara.